Two Prison Guards Attacked

SUFFIELD — The state's largest prison was locked down Monday after two inmates attacked two correction officers, putting one of the officers in the hospital, prison officials said.

The incident occurred about 9:30 p.m. Sunday in a housing unit at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution, a high-security prison with more than 2,000 inmates.

According to a correction department news release, during lockdown the facility confines inmates to their cells and limits their movements within the facility.

Correction officials were not releasing the names of the inmates or the correction officers Monday, but said that the officers were taken to Hartford Hospital and that one officer was still being treated at the hospital and that the second had been discharged.

Jon Pepe, president of the union that represents correction employees at MacDougall-Walker, said that the union is working with the correction department to discuss safety enhancements. Pepe would not elaborate on what those safety enhancements might be.

``Safety is always a concern, especially at a large prison like that,'' said Pepe, of AFSCME Local 391, the Connecticut State Prison Employees union.

The inmates were transferred to Northern Correctional Institution in Somers, the state's super-maximum-security prison. State police and correction officials are investigating, and criminal charges are expected to be filed.

Both inmates are serving lengthy sentences on attempted-murder convictions. One inmate is serving a 75-year prison term, and the other is serving an 85-year prison term, according to Stacy Smith, a correction department spokeswoman.